Hi Kevin,
I guess NS must be low on stock itself...or else your
samples would have shipped.
A few days ago I actually saw 3 DIP LM4562 listed
on Digikey's website. They were gone the next
day.
BTW, there's a GB being arranged for the LM4562 opamp:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91574
I'll get a few there to try in the Zhalou and maybe a headphone
circuit...
Cheers,
Dennis
I guess NS must be low on stock itself...or else your
samples would have shipped.
A few days ago I actually saw 3 DIP LM4562 listed
on Digikey's website. They were gone the next
day.
BTW, there's a GB being arranged for the LM4562 opamp:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91574
I'll get a few there to try in the Zhalou and maybe a headphone
circuit...
Cheers,
Dennis
Hi Dennis,
Yeah the LM4562 is still in early start up phase. Supplies should be better in a few months I would guess.
I don't have anything else in my system that uses op-amps except for a really bad sounding Sony SACD player and these are soics. I should probably replace them too..
My ultimate plan is to replace the zhaolu analog board with a new discrete version, so far simulations are looking pretty good. When the LM4562 come in I will pull the board and reverse engineer the connections and dimension it. Then I'll lay out the board. If I do everything right it will be drop in plug & play hopefully. I'm sure some debug will be required..
Yeah the LM4562 is still in early start up phase. Supplies should be better in a few months I would guess.
I don't have anything else in my system that uses op-amps except for a really bad sounding Sony SACD player and these are soics. I should probably replace them too..
My ultimate plan is to replace the zhaolu analog board with a new discrete version, so far simulations are looking pretty good. When the LM4562 come in I will pull the board and reverse engineer the connections and dimension it. Then I'll lay out the board. If I do everything right it will be drop in plug & play hopefully. I'm sure some debug will be required..
Well I finally got my hands on a couple of LM4562 thanks to a friend who had some spares he hadn't yet found a home for..
Definitely more refined than the LT1057 in every sense of the word.
Better bass definition, cleaner, smoother mids and airy treble. Just a little more natural sounding as well. Interestingly the lower mid bass push (bloat?) that sounds a bit over done with the LT1057 is completely absent. The sound space seems better defined and deeper.
These impressions are after barely a couple of hours of listening.
All of the good things I like about this dac are still there.
In terms of my own tastes here is how I rank the limited number of op-amps I've tried.
#1 LM4562
#2 LT1057 good, but not great - too much push on the bottom otherwise a good compromise
#3 OPA2134 boring and uninvolving
#4 OPA2604 Stock - boring and uninvolving, only slightly worse than the OPA2134.
I have not evaluated the 2132 which I would expect to usurp #3 at the least and possibly #2 as well.
My system consists of a pc based media server into the Zhaolu, a 26 dht based transformer coupled line stage, a 300B based power amplifier, Onken style bass cabinets with JBL mid and tweeter horns. Passive outboard cross-over. Maximum spl about 108dB. (Yeah it gets very loud) Bottom end conks out around 35Hz. Everything except Zhaolu is DIY..
Music taste is jazz, classical to techno and dance.
So YMMV.. LOL
Definitely more refined than the LT1057 in every sense of the word.
Better bass definition, cleaner, smoother mids and airy treble. Just a little more natural sounding as well. Interestingly the lower mid bass push (bloat?) that sounds a bit over done with the LT1057 is completely absent. The sound space seems better defined and deeper.
These impressions are after barely a couple of hours of listening.
All of the good things I like about this dac are still there.
In terms of my own tastes here is how I rank the limited number of op-amps I've tried.
#1 LM4562
#2 LT1057 good, but not great - too much push on the bottom otherwise a good compromise
#3 OPA2134 boring and uninvolving
#4 OPA2604 Stock - boring and uninvolving, only slightly worse than the OPA2134.
I have not evaluated the 2132 which I would expect to usurp #3 at the least and possibly #2 as well.
My system consists of a pc based media server into the Zhaolu, a 26 dht based transformer coupled line stage, a 300B based power amplifier, Onken style bass cabinets with JBL mid and tweeter horns. Passive outboard cross-over. Maximum spl about 108dB. (Yeah it gets very loud) Bottom end conks out around 35Hz. Everything except Zhaolu is DIY..
Music taste is jazz, classical to techno and dance.
So YMMV.. LOL
bear-hifi said:
Hello Hifi-bear,
I emailed sales@diykits.com.hk and got a response in a
about one day. In my case, shipping was $54 USD.
Cheers,
Dennis
Shipping on mine was $59 to the Boston area.
I'm just delighted with mine and I bought the cheapest version. It just sings. With the LM4562 what was already creaming my Ultralink II has gotten even better.
Anything with a decent spdif output ought to be ok. (I prefer coax to spdif toslink optical) That said my Sony SACD player is not, of course it doesn't sound good playing cds through its analog outputs either.. I'm pretty much done with SACD anyway and will get something else to play the occasional cd.
I'm just delighted with mine and I bought the cheapest version. It just sings. With the LM4562 what was already creaming my Ultralink II has gotten even better.
Anything with a decent spdif output ought to be ok. (I prefer coax to spdif toslink optical) That said my Sony SACD player is not, of course it doesn't sound good playing cds through its analog outputs either..
I'm pretty much done with SACD anyway and will get something else to play the occasional cd.
JRC4162G
Hello,
I've finally summoned up the courage and opened up
my D2.5. I noticed there are two JRC4162G
opamps on the headphone PCB. Does anyone
have any info on this part? I did a google search
and came up with nothing.
Also, I'm curious what opamps have people been
using in the headphone circuit?
Thanks,
Dennis
Hello,
I've finally summoned up the courage and opened up
my D2.5. I noticed there are two JRC4162G
opamps on the headphone PCB. Does anyone
have any info on this part? I did a google search
and came up with nothing.
Also, I'm curious what opamps have people been
using in the headphone circuit?
Thanks,
Dennis
Member
Joined 2003
I don't remember the exact part number of the cheap JRC op-amp that was in the headphone amp on my Zhaolu (it wasn't 4162), but I remember it being so cheap it might as well have been a 741. I used the included OPA2604 op-amps in place there and the headphone output is perfectly satisfactory for me, though I rarely listen through headphones and therefore have very cheap headphones as well (old Koss TD/60).
A clock upgrade with its own PSU would be a nice upgrade for the Zhaolu as well. There's the hagclock, kwak clock, LCAudio clock, and others. with the zapfilter and a clock upgrade, it'll be the ultimate DAC. even with just the zapfilter, it already beats the popular professional DACs like Benchmark, Apogee, and Lavry.
ashok said:
it is merely my own opinion, and also happens to be the opinion of my friends and also some people on head-fi.com who've done numerous shootouts. basically, the zhaolu is more detailed, more transparent, and has a much bigger soundstage. you also get better intrument separation and more refined bass.
i lost the link to the zapfiltered zhaolu shootout, but here's a similar oritek zhaolu shootout, also using a discrete output stage. others tell me that the zapfilter is better, though. nevertheless, enough to clobber the commercial offerings:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=167257
I think the AD1852 distortion specs were made with a 100K ohm load as seen on the data sheet. Could it be possible that the chip sounds better with high impedance loads ?
The stock filter in the Zaholu has a low input impedance !! Does tha Zap filter have a high or higher input impedance ?
I plan to experiment !
The stock filter in the Zaholu has a low input impedance !! Does tha Zap filter have a high or higher input impedance ?
I plan to experiment !
2.0 VS 2.5 VERSION
Hi All,
After some investigation on the layout diagram on Zhaolu website, I notice that there are some changing inside the chasis.
1. The balanced output is disappreared in newer version. It looks like some degrade to cut the cost down.
2. One universal board has been separated into individual board, PSU, digital and analog board. There is no plug in option for people who love to change their dac chip. The dac was integrated into receiver board.
3. The supply is combined, not isolated for each stage. This may be a weak point. It can simply says that V2.0 has a much better PS when compare to V2.5
I do plan to try Zhaolu but when I do a closer evaluation for each version, I was disappointed on this development. The most important question is " Does V2.5 sounds better?"
Can anyone shred me some light? Thanks.
Kittikun
Hi All,
After some investigation on the layout diagram on Zhaolu website, I notice that there are some changing inside the chasis.
1. The balanced output is disappreared in newer version. It looks like some degrade to cut the cost down.
2. One universal board has been separated into individual board, PSU, digital and analog board. There is no plug in option for people who love to change their dac chip. The dac was integrated into receiver board.
3. The supply is combined, not isolated for each stage. This may be a weak point. It can simply says that V2.0 has a much better PS when compare to V2.5
I do plan to try Zhaolu but when I do a closer evaluation for each version, I was disappointed on this development. The most important question is " Does V2.5 sounds better?"
Can anyone shred me some light? Thanks.
Kittikun
I can "shred" but limited light on your comments.. 
(I don't have a 2.0 to compare to.)
The Zhaolu is modular and there are different dac boards and headphone amplifier boards.
The general consensus amongst those who have had both is that the 2.5 is a significant improvement over the older 2.0 version.
I have balanced outputs on my Ultralink II and have never used them. I appreciate the simplification and re-application of funds to more desirable things like the individual and upgradeable modular approach. Component quality is also very good.
I have the 2.5A version and it absolutely clobbers my much more expensive PS Audio Ultralink II in some key areas.
The power supply has separate analog and digital supply sections fed from separate windings on the R-core transformer. The analog supply section appears to be generally similar to the Jung Super Reg approach and IMO is far superior to what I see in a lot of more expensive dacs.
I have installed LM4562 op-amps in the analog board and am very, very pleased with what I hear.
(I don't have a 2.0 to compare to.)
The Zhaolu is modular and there are different dac boards and headphone amplifier boards.
The general consensus amongst those who have had both is that the 2.5 is a significant improvement over the older 2.0 version.
I have balanced outputs on my Ultralink II and have never used them. I appreciate the simplification and re-application of funds to more desirable things like the individual and upgradeable modular approach. Component quality is also very good.
I have the 2.5A version and it absolutely clobbers my much more expensive PS Audio Ultralink II in some key areas.
The power supply has separate analog and digital supply sections fed from separate windings on the R-core transformer. The analog supply section appears to be generally similar to the Jung Super Reg approach and IMO is far superior to what I see in a lot of more expensive dacs.
I have installed LM4562 op-amps in the analog board and am very, very pleased with what I hear.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.